I can definitely say that the last few weeks of training have been some of the most enjoyable I can remember having. The objective has been hour building and really developing our skills in the air. Of course the major milestone which I have been looking forward to is the prospect of the first time I will fly solo. Something that only a few months ago would have seemed almost impossible to me. I imagine it is the moment that any pilot in training looks forward to the most, certainly it is for me. Not only the thrill of flying a plane on your own but the accomplishment it signifies, that your skills have developed enough to make it possible. I was astounded at the speed at which my flight training has brought me to this point. I have to put that down to the knowledge, guidance and experience of the instructors of AFTA. You really feel yourself developing as a pilot on an almost daily basis.
I was astounded at the speed at which my flight training has brought me to this point. I have to put that down to the knowledge, guidance and experience of the instructors of AFTA
The day arrives for my solo flight to go ahead and it is definitely a mixture of pure excitement and an awareness of the potential issues you face. In many respects it is a process whereby, you truly have your life in your own hands. Much more so than driving a car where if something goes wrong you can simply hit the brakes, stop the car and get out. In an aircraft you don’t have such luxury. If something goes wrong, successfully “stopping” the plane can involve quite a bit more work. While this may cause some reservation, I am at a point where I have high confidence in my abilities. In a way the last few months of training have been leading up to this moment. All the procedures, practices and skills developed I know would get me out of any unlikely situation I might find myself in.
The process involves a check flight with an instructor, essentially like a driving test of circuits, take-offs and landings and emergency drills to see if you know your stuff. My check all went according to plan and the instructor with me, Alan Walsh, radios the tower to advise I will be ‘continuing solo’, on hearing this the anticipation began to rise. Back on the ground at AFTA’s ramp area Alan jumped out, closed his door, gave a reassuring thumbs up and with that, it was now all down to me. Re-establishing radio contact with the Tower was the one and only point of hesitation I had. As I hovered over the radio button I knew that as soon as I made contact, that was it, this flight was all down to me. My hesitation was only momentary. From there you have enough going on that you sort of forget that you’re on your own, you simply revert to what you know and have been taught to do. You complete your procedures, maintain radio communications, take-off and climb out as usual. Definitely the moment it really hit me was after taking off, climbing out and completing all my checks I was flying the ‘downwind’ leg of the circuit when you have a brief respite from procedures. I looked across to the seat where I was accustomed to having an instructor sitting and it’s empty. Nobody there as a safety net if you make a mistake, nobody to advise you, help or tell you what to do. You are in fact fully in control, fully responsible and completely alone in your flying of this aircraft. It’s an incredible feeling and one that’s hard to do justice in words, in my opinion everyone should experience it! You realise that you have been trained to a point where your instructors trust you to take their (quite expensive) plane into the skies and return it and yourself safely.
The next phase of the flight is the somewhat crucial step of landing. To be honest I was fully expecting to be slightly nervous on approach, the pressure of landing successfully looming over me. But to my surprise I was incredibly calm during this phase of the flight my focus was fully on the task in hand, no feeling of nerves. This is what I have been trained to do, I have done it many times before and I know how to do it. Since you’re reading this I can reveal I did land the aircraft safely. Usual shut down checks followed by a handshake and congratulations from Alan and it dawns on me what I have just achieved.
Before starting my training I had been told your first solo flight is an experience you will never forget and I can certainly say that’s true for me. The feeling of accomplishment is second to none. Since that day I have completed a number of solo flights and I can say, the buzz remains the same each time. So the first major milestone of my training has been checked off the list. What I am excited about is the amount that I still have to look forward to on that list.